Native American Creation Theories free essay sample

There are many different theories dealing with the creation of the world. The Native Americans have several, but there are two very popular creation myths that are supported. The World on the Turtle’s Back and When Grizzlies Walked Upright. Each offers a unique perspective on how the world was created, yet many similarities tie them together. In the beginning of both stories, there is a god-like creature that comes down from a place called â€Å"Sky-World†. In The World on the Turtle’s Back, the woman either fell or was pushed after peering down a hole into the dark emptiness below, a result of her own foolishness. Foolish curiosity once again appeared in When Grizzlies Walked Upright, when the young girl stuck her head out of the top of the volcano, even after her father had expressly warned her not to, and was carried away by the Wind Spirit. Wind Spirit was hardly mentioned, but right away, I got the idea that he was the mischievous character. We will write a custom essay sample on Native American Creation Theories or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In The World on the Turtle’s Back, there is a mischievous character called the left-handed twin, who is told to be the very first trickster to walk the earth. Both of these creation myths are full of unusual and unexplainable things; One of the weirdest is the matter of how the daughters became pregnant. In When Grizzlies Walked Upright, the girl marries a grizzly bear and â€Å"bears† his children, who later grow up to become the indians. In The World on the Turtle’s Back, the daughter happens across a strange man, who literally appeared out of thin air, and faints from the shock. As she is lying on the ground, unconscious, he lays two arrows across her stomach. Suddenly, she is pregnant with twins. The two stories certainly share many bizarre features, however they also have very different explanations for things. In The World on the Turtle’s Back, after the woman falls from the Sky-World onto the back of a turtle, she creates the earth from a crumb of dirt and several roots and plants that she had brought down when she fell. In When Grizzlies Walked Upright, the earth was already created except for the animals, which the man from the Sky-World, called Sky Spirit, created using wood from his walking stick. The World on the Turtle’s Back also has an explanation for the appearance of the animals. Several animals were already created, and the rest were made by the two twin brothers, as they competed to get the better of each other. While the story of the turtle explained the appearance of crops, the moon, night, and day, the story of the grizzlies explained how animals, mountains, and volcanoes were created. One of the biggest differences between the stories is the amount of Sky Gods that came down to earth. In The World on the Turtle’s Back, only one woman came down and it was more of an accident than anything else. In When Grizzlies Walked Upright, a whole family of Sky Spirits walked down a mountain onto the earth and built a lodge inside a volcano. In these two creation myths, there are features that link them together and differences that keep them separated. The thing to remember is that these are only two of the thousands of ideas about how the earth came to be. While there are certain theories, the truth behind earth’s beginning may never be known.

The Growth of Rome - Ancient History

The Growth of Rome - Ancient History At first, Rome was just one, small city-state in an area of Latin-speaking people (called Latium), on the west side of Italys peninsula. Rome, as a monarchy (founded, according to legend, in 753 B.C.), couldnt even keep foreign powers from ruling it. It started gaining strength from about 510 B.C. (when the Romans threw out their last king) until the middle of the 3rd century B.C. During this the early Republican period, Rome made and broke strategic treaties with neighboring groups in order to help her conquer other city-states. In the end, after revising her battle tactics, weapons, and legions, Rome emerged as the undisputed leader of Italy. This quick look at the growth of Rome names the events leading to Romes domination over the peninsula. Early RomeLegendary Founding of Rome Etruscan and Italic Kings of Rome In the legendary beginning of its history, Rome was ruled by 7 kings. The first was Romulus, whose ancestry is traced to Trojan (War) prince Aeneas.The next king was a Sabine (a region of Latium northeast of Rome), Numa Pompilius.The third king was a Roman, Tullus Hostilius, who welcomed the Albans into Rome.The fourth king was Numas grandson, Ancus Martius.After him came the 3 Etruscan kings,Tarquinius Priscus,his son-in-law Servius Tullius, andTarquins son, the last king of Rome, known as Tarquinius Superbus or Tarquin the Proud. The Etruscans were based in Etruria, a large area of the Italic peninsula to the north of Rome. 7 Kings of RomeGeography of Rome The Growth of Rome Starts Latin Alliances The Romans expelled their Etruscan king and his relatives peacefully, but soon thereafter they had to fight to keep them out. By the time the Romans had defeated the Etruscan Porsenna, at Aricia, even the threat of Etruscan rule of the Romans had reached its end. Then the Latin city-states, but excluding Rome, banded together in an alliance against Rome. While they battled each other, the Latin allies suffered attacks from the mountain tribes. These tribes lived east of the Apennines, a long mountain range that separates Italy into an eastern and western side. The mountain tribes are presumed to have been attacking because they needed more arable land. Rome and the Latins Make Treaties The Latins had no extra land to give the mountain tribes, so, in about 493 B.C., the Latins this time including Rome signed a mutual defense treaty that is called foedus Cassianum, which is Latin for Cassian Treaty. A few years later, in about 486 B.C., the Romans made a treaty with one of the mountain peoples, the Hernici, who lived between the Volsci and the Aequi, who were other eastern mountain tribes. Bound to Rome by separate treaties, the league of Latin city-states, the Hernici, and Rome defeated the Volsci. Rome then settled Latins and Romans as farmer/landowners in the territory. Growth of Rome Rome Expands Into Veii In 405 B.C., the Romans began an unprovoked 10-year struggle to annex the Etruscan city of Veii. The other Etruscan cities failed to rally to the defense of Veii in a timely manner. By the time some of the Etruscan league of cities came, they were blocked. Camillus led the Roman and allied troops into victory in Veii, where they slaughtered some Etruscans, sold others into slavery, and added land to the Roman territory (ager publicus) , much of it given to Romes plebeian poor. Latin LeagueVeientine WarsBattle of Lake RegillusCoriolanus Temporary Setback to the Growth of Rome The Sack of the Gauls In the 4th century B.C., Italy was invaded by the Gauls. Although Rome survived, thanks in part to the noisily famous Capitoline geese, the Romans defeat at the Battle of the Allia remained a sore spot throughout Romes history. The Gauls left Rome only after they were given vast quantities of gold. Then they gradually settled down, and some (the Senones) made alliances with Rome. Rome Dominates Central Italy Romes defeat made other Italic cities more confident, but the Romans didnt just sit back. They learned from their mistakes, improved their military, and fought off Etruscans, Aequi, and Volsci during the decade between 390 and 380. In 360, the Hernici (Romes former non-Latin league ally who had helped defeat the Volsci), and the cities of Praeneste and Tibur allied themselves against Rome, unsuccessfully: Rome added them to its territory. Rome forced a new treaty on her Latin allies making Rome dominant. The Latin League, with Rome at its head, then defeated the league of Etruscan cities. In the middle of the 4th century B.C., Rome turned towards the south, to Campania (where Pompeii, Mt. Vesuvius and Naples are located) and the Samnites. Although it took until the beginning of the third century, Rome did defeat the Samnites and annexed the rest of central Italy.​ Rome Annexes Southern Italy Finally Rome looked to Magna Graecia in southern Italy and fought King Pyrrhus of Epirus. While Pyrrhus won 2 battles, both sides fared badly. Rome had an almost inexhaustible supply of manpower (because it demanded troops of its allies and conquered territories). Pyrrhus pretty much only had those men he had brought with him from Epirus, so the Pyrrhic victory turned out to be worse for the victor than the defeated. When Pyrrhus lost his third battle against Rome, he left Italy, leaving southern Italy to Rome. Rome was then recognized as supreme and entered into international treaties. King Pyrrhus of EpirusTarentum and the Pyrrhic Wars The next step was to go beyond the Italic peninsula.   Source: Cary and Scullard.